Brett Ratner Set to Direct RUSH HOUR 4 and Paramount Will Distribute the Movie
The long-running buddy cop franchise is gearing up for a return as Paramount has come aboard to distribute the next Rush Hour sequel, which Brett Ratner is returning to direct. I’m not sure how he managed to weasel his way back into the director’s chair, but he did.
Deadline has confirmed with sources that Paramount is releasing the new installment on behalf of Warner Bros. and will take a double digit percent distribution fee for handling the rollout.
It is a surprising development and a significant one considering what is happening behind the scenes in Hollywood right now.
This partnership arrives during a moment when David Ellison owned Paramount is aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery. All bids were reportedly due last week with Netflix and Comcast also in the mix.
Seeing Paramount help usher a major Warner Bros. property back into theaters is the first notable collaboration between the two studios since Ellison took over the the studio, and it is raising a few eyebrows across the industry.
Before Paramount stepped in, a number of studios passed on distributing the film. That included Warner Bros.’ own New Line division, which originally launched the Rush Hour franchise and watched it boost the careers of Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, and Ratner.
Those movies delivered a massive global footprint with the trilogy earning around $850 million worldwide. The series kicked off in 1998, followed by sequels in 2001 and 2007, and fans have been waiting ever since for Chan and Tucker to reunite on the big screen.
Ratner’s return to a major studio film inevitably brings up the controversies that pushed him out of the spotlight years ago. He was accused of sexual assault in 2017 by Melanie Kohler.
He sued for defamation and both sides reached a settlement in the fall of 2018 agreeing to move on. Ratner has kept a lower profile in the time since although he did recently direct a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for Amazon MGM Studios which is slated to hit theaters on January 30th.
While I’ve never been a fan of Ratner, I have enjoyed the Rush Hour films. I would’ve liked to see another director step in for this one because lots of directors can make fun, high energy action comedy movies.